Styling comb and method of making

ABSTRACT

A styling comb for styling human hair is comprised of a U-shaped tooth carrier and U-shaped teeth formed of metal for strength, the teeth are inserted between the parallel legs of the U-shaped carrier and welded thereto, a handle is affixed to the free ends of the tooth carrier.

Waited States Patent Romani' STYLING COMB AND METHOD OF MAKING 2,465,455 8/1923 Owen 1 32/142 Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-Gregory E. McNeil] Attorney-Smith, Michael, Bradford and Gardiner ABSTRACT A styling comb for styling human hair is comprised of a U- shaped tooth carrier and U-shaped teeth formed of metal for strength, the teeth are inserted between the parallel legs of the U-shaped carrier and welded thereto, a handle is afi'lxed to the free ends of the tooth carrier' 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PAIENTEDHAR 1 I972 3.646. 945

INVENI'OR Am'hony Fr. Roma/21' ATTORNEYS STYLING COMB AND METHOD OF MAKING BACKGROUND Recently there has developed a fashion trend toward hair styles reflecting the natural genetic characteristics of race. For example, just as many persons of Caucasian heredity seek to promote hair styles requiring curls or waves, many people of the Negro race have ceased to emulate such hair styles in preference to styles more natural to their genetic characteristics. Among such styles is the so-called Afro style wherein the hair on the head is permitted to grow quite thick and is combed about the head in such a manner as to stand out from the scalp in the manner of a bushy halo or cap. Because of the natural tendency of the hair to curl into tight ringlets, it is necessary to style the hair by means of a comb to produce the desired compact yet bushy effect. Again, because the length of hair is substantial, any comb used must have teeth of quite substantial length and hence such Afro styling combs have come to resemble cake cutters of the configuration shown in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,858,790 having a handle and a tooth holder of stepped shape. The teeth are quite long, in the order of 2% to 3 inches and the handle lies in an axis which extends through the teeth about midway of the length from tip to backing.

While many attempts have been made to manufacture such combs, the product produced has not been generally satisfactory lacking strength with the result that the teeth are easily broken or pulled out of the tooth backing. Alternatively, such combs made to possess the required strength have been expensive to manufacture because special dies, molds, etc., are required to set the teeth in place. In this connection, attention is invited to US. Pat. No. 2,845,642 disclosing U-shaped teeth embedded in a molded plastic backing member.

THE INVENTION The present invention then deals with the manufacture of so-called Afro styling combs wherein a product having the desired strength is produced by an economically feasible process.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to produce a metal styling comb.

A further object of the invention is to produce a highstrength yet reasonably priced styling comb.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a method of manufacturing styling combs.

An additional object of the invention is to produce a strong, durable styling comb by an economical process.

The specified objects and others not specified may be accomplished by a comb comprised of a U-shaped tooth back having a bight at one end and two parallel legs the free ends of which are inserted within a handle, tooth means comprising a plurality of U-shaped elements having spaced parallel legs defining comb teeth are positioned with their respective bight portions between the parallel legs of the backing members and are welded therebetween.

Such combs are made by providing a metal rod of given length, bending said rod into the form of two parallel legs, providing a handle on the free terminal ends of said legs, forming a second rod into a plurality of U-shaped tooth members each consisting of parallel legs interconnected by a bight portion, inserting said plurality of tooth members between the parallel legs of said backing member and thereafter bonding the bight portion of the tooth elements to and between said parallel legs of said backing member.

A preferred material used in manufacturing styling combs is metal, but other material of high strength and possessed of the requisite bending and bonding properties may also be used to advantage.

Having thus described the invention in broad terms, the details of manufacture and the product produced will become apparent from the following descriptive material, reference being made to the drawings forming a part thereof and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a comb made in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 2 is a top view of the comb shown in FIG. 1, while FIG. 3 is an enlarged view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the so-called Afro styling comb is comprised of a tooth-backing member 1. The backing member includes an inclined or step portion 3 which merges integrally into a terminal portion 5. A majority of the terminal portion 5 is incased in a handle 7 preferably tapered toward one end as shown, for easy manipulations by the ultimate user.

A plurality of teeth 9 extend from backing member I, said teeth 9 being of substantial length as compared with an ordinary comb. Preferably the length of teeth 9 is such that an axis line M passing through handle 7 bisects the teeth approximately midway of their overall length.

Turning now to FIG. 2, it may be seen that backing member 1 is actually two parallel legs la, 1b of a rodlike member bent into U shape, the legs la, lb being connected by a bight portion 1c.

As also may be seen reference being made also to FIG. 3, teeth 9 are actually comprised of a plurality of rodlike members each comprising parallel legs 9a, 9b of equal length and interconnected by integral bight portions 9c. The bight portions of teeth 9 are disposed between the parallel legs of backing member 1a and lb and are fixed thereto as by welding or the like W.

Where the various elements are metal, welding is the technique used to fix teeth 9 in place on backing 1. Where a plastic material is used, as for example a nylon or fiberglassresin material, solvent bonding is effective to lock teeth 9 in backing member 1.

Handle 7 may be attached to the terminal ends 5a, 5b of backing member 1 by any number of means as will be described hereinafter.

It is particularly noteworthy to recognize that teeth 9 are positioned in the backing member 1 such that the space between any two legs 90, 9b of any one tooth element is precisely equal to the spacing between a tooth 9b with tooth 9a of the next adjacent tooth element.

The method of making a comb according to the invention is as follows.

First, a rod of given diameter, usually on the order of oneeighth inch is bent at its midpoint to produce a U-shaped backing member having parallel legs of equal length. The space between the parallel legs is narrower than the diameter of the legs for the reasons to become apparent.

At this point, if an Afro styling comb is being produced the U-shaped backing member is formed to include the inclined or stepped portion 3 and terminal portions 5a, 5b of the legs. At this time, handle 7 may be attached to terminal portions 5a, 5b of the backing member 1 by any one of a variety of techniques. For example, the handle 7 may be drilled to provide a recess into which the terminal end 5 of backing member is inserted and bonded into place by a filleradhesive packing.

Alternatively, the backing member 1 could be placed in a mold so that the handle 7 cube molded about terminal end 5 by any of a variety of known plastics molding techniques.

Obviously, other means of positioning handle 7 in place on the end portion 5 of backing member 1 will occur to those skilled in the art. 1

The teeth 9 are now formed by providing a series of rods of identical length, the number of which is one half the number of teeth to be made. The identical rods are of a diameter less than that of the rod used for backing member 1, generally on the order of one thirty-second inch. In any event, the diameter of the tooth forming rods is coordinated with the spacing between legs la, lb of backing member 1 so that the rods can be positioned between legs la and lb.

The rods are bent at their midpoint to produce a plurality of U-shaped teeth 9a, 9b interconnected by a bight portion 90. The teeth 9a and 9b are spaced apart a selected distance by the amount of bend in the bight 9c. in other words, the bight is more of a U with a fiat bottom rather than a true U shape.

The U-shaped teeth elements 9 are now inserted between the parallel legs 50 and 5b of the backing member with the bight portions 90 of each member 9 positioned finally between and in contact with these legs so that the distance between the ends of each tooth 9 and the backing member 1 is identical. It is also important to note that the distance between the leg 9b of one tooth member 9 and the leg 9a of a next adjacent tooth element 9 is preferably the same distance as is the distance between the parallel legs 9a and 9b of any given tooth element 9. Thus, as a general rule the spacing between all of the teeth 9 is uniform. I

The insertion of the teeth may be performed manually or by any one of a number of methods which may include a fixture or jig to assure proper tooth spacing.

After all of the teeth are positioned between the legs 1a, lb of the backing member 1, the bight portion 9c of each tooth element is welded or otherwise fixed to backing member 1, the fixing means varying with the materials used.

it will be apparent that the described comb structure and method of making same is not necessarily restricted to the manufacture of so-called Afro styling combs. Any comblike structure may be so formed but because the Afro styling combs represent a very advantageous use for the product and process, the invention has been described in this particular environment.

Having thus described the article and method of making comprising the invention, various changes will become apparent, all of which fall within the spirit and scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A comb structure comprising a U-shaped backing member comprised of a pair of parallel legs and an integral bight and a plurality of teeth, said teeth being comprised of a plurality of identical U-shaped tooth elements having spaced parallel legs defining teeth and integral bight portions, the bight portions of each tooth element being positioned between the legs of said backing member and being secured to said legs.

2. A comb structure as defined in claim 1 wherein the spacing between the leg of any given tooth element is identical to the spacing between the tooth-defining legs of any pair of adjacent tooth elements.

3. A comb structure as defined in claim 1 wherein the parallel legs of the backing member are substantially equal to the thickness of the bight portions of said tooth elements.

4. A comb structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said backing member is comprised of a metal rod of given diameter bent into U-shape and each tooth element is comprised of a metal rod element of lesser diameter bent into U-shape and said bight portions of said tooth elements are welded to said backing member.

5. A comb structure as defined in claim 1 including a handle encasing the free ends of the parallel legs of the backing member.

6. A comb structure as defined in claim 5 wherein said backing member is stepped and said terminal ends and said handle are disposed in an axis line intersecting said tooth elements midway between said remaining portion of said tooth backing element and the terminal ends of said teeth. 

1. A comb structure comprising a U-shaped backing member comprised of a pair of parallel legs and an integral bight and a plurality of teeth, said teeth being comprised of a plurality of identical U-shaped tooth elements having spaced parallel legs defining teeth and integral bight portions, the bight portions of each tooth element being positioned between the legs of said backing member and being secured to said legs.
 2. A comb structure as defined in claim 1 wherein the spacing between the leg of any given tooth element is identical to the spacing between the tooth-defining legs of any pair of adjacent tooth elements.
 3. A comb structure as defined in claim 1 wherein the parallel legs of the backing member are substantially equal to the thickness of the bight portions of said tooth elements.
 4. A comb structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said backing member is comprised of a metal rod of given diameter bent into U-shape and each tooth element is comprised of a metal rod element of lesser diameter bent into U-shape and said bight portions of said tooth elements are welded to said backing member.
 5. A comb structure as defined in claim 1 including a handle encasing the free ends of the parallel legs of the backing member.
 6. A comb structure as defined in claim 5 wherein said backing member is stepped and said terminal ends and said handle are disposed in an axis line intersecting said tooth elements midway between said remaining portion of said tooth backing element and the terminal ends of said teeth. 